


Operation: Lovebirds

by EveWillows33112



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Background Relationships, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, The girls are supportive, Tumblr request, and ashe loves dedue, cooking together, cute boys being cute, cute crushes - Freeform, cute hand kisses, dedue is not as oblivious as everyone thinks, he loves ashe, soft, the blue lions are a big sappy family, they also like to meddle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 00:10:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20573231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveWillows33112/pseuds/EveWillows33112
Summary: It was the worst kept secret in the Blue Lion House. Ashe has a little crush on Dedue. The Blue Lions all team up to get their friends together in Operation: Lovebirds





	Operation: Lovebirds

**Author's Note:**

> This was a anonymous tumblr request and after I posted it there I thought about posting it here! I was super proud of it and thought you guys would enjoy it too. If you're on here too anon thank you for giving the request! I hope you all enjoy it!! Kudos and comments welcome!  
Regards,  
S

It was the worst kept secret in the Blue Lion house. A certain silver-haired boy making doe eyes at the prince's bodyguard every time they were in the same room. Everyone, even Dimitri seemed to know about it, it would've been cute, had a certain Duscur man hadn't been oblivious. At least, they think hope it's just Dedue being oblivious and not him quietly rejecting the crush.

"I thought the pining between Felix and Sylvain was bad," Annette said offhandedly while the girls looked at the other end of the table at Dimitri, Dedue, and Ashe. The smaller of the three had been having breakfast with them almost every day now. Not making conversation, but rather making the most obvious doe eyes at Dedue. 

"It's obvious Ashe has a crush but Dedue...he's a tougher nut to crack," Ingrid said. 

"Well!" Sylvain interrupted followed by Felix while they sat down. "My sources tell me, that Dimitri was the one that started inviting Ashe over to meals. He's been having tea with him a lot too with Dedue carefully watching over them," Sylvain said and waggled his eyes at the girls. "I think he's trying to get them together," he teased.  
The girls blinked and looked down over at the three other boys again and a look of disappointment was on Dimitri's face when Ashe got up at left. "Oh dear," Mercedes said. 

"Failed again I see..." Felix muttered. 

"We need to get Dimitri alone and talk to him about our little Ashe and Dedue situation," Ingrid said. 

"Leave that to the two of us," Sylvain said looking at Felix grinning. "Dedue is more apt to leave his Highness alone with the two of us," he said. 

"Right and we'll go talk to Ashe," Ingrid said looking at the girls. "Right after today's classes, we're going to try to get these two together!" 

xxx

"Uh, Felix? Sylvain? Why are we in the classroom?" Dimitri asked. "I have training in a few minutes."

"It was private," Felix said leaning against the wall. "We need to talk to you about a little in house situation," he said. Dimitri sighed and looked at Sylvain. 

"Look if one of the girls rejects you-" he started. 

"No!" Sylvain said quickly then added a nervous laugh. "Not that situation, actually we wanted to talk to about Dedue and Ashe," he said. Dimitri blinked a little and then laughed softly rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Ah...so you noticed too?" he asked. 

"We noticed you're spending a lot of time with Ashe, and we noticed the doe eyes he makes at Dedue, other than that we've noticed nothing," Felix said. 

"Right...well...Ashe has a crush on Dedue, that was obvious," Dimitri said. "And Dedue well, I don't know about him," he said. "He's sharp, I'm certain he's noticed the looks from Ashe. I don't know how he feels about it, but whenever I breach the subject he avoids it completely," he sighs softly. "But I've also noticed he's been carefully cultivating certain flowers in the greenhouse whenever I've followed him there. I don't know what they are, but they're silver, with a green center, mint green."

"Like Ashe's hair and eyes?" Sylvain asked. Dimitri nodded. 

"I pointed it out, and Dedue said nothing," he looked at the other two and rose his brow. "Wait...what are the girls doing if you're here?" he asked. 

"Talking to Ashe," Sylvain and Felix said together. "The whole house is in on this," Felix finished. 

"We're trying to get those two together," Sylvain grinned. "Like what you all did for Felix and me," he said and winked at Felix who just rolled his eyes. 

"Well...Dedue hasn't been very forthcoming about it, but..." Dimitri rubbed his chin slowly his thoughts going to the flowers in the greenhouse. If that was an obvious sign..."Okay, let's get them together!" he said determinedly.

"Yes! Operation: Lovebirds is on!" Sylvain announced. 

xxx

Ashe was sitting by the fire in the library looking down at a large tome in his lap. Duscur: A History. Seemingly overnight he had started looking into Duscur's history, and culture and honestly he was quite entranced by it. It was a rich culture so unlike his own, and he wouldn't lie it was fascinating. 

"Oh Ashe!" Annette called playfully when they entered the library, making Ashe look up from the book with a smile. "There you are, we've been looking everywhere for you!" she said and slid onto the floor next to Ashe while Mercedes slid on the other side and Ingrid sat in front of Ashe. 

"Uh...hello ladies," Ashe said looking at them with wide eyes. "Something I can help you with?" he asked. 

"Oh no dear," Ingrid said. 

"It's something we can help you with though," Mercedes said giggling. 

"Uh...huh?" Ashe asked tilting his head questionably. 

"You've got a little crush on someone in our house," Annette said. 

"Someone tall," Ingrid chimed it. 

"Handsome," Mercedes said. 

"Someone who follows Dimitri around," Annette said. 

"A certain Duscur man-"

"Yes yes! Okay!" Ashe yelped clearly flustered looking around for anyone that might have been eavesdropping. "Yes you caught me, I have a crush on Dedue. Though I highly doubt it's the same for him," he said a little quieter looking down at the book in his hands. 

"Why wouldn't he feel the same? Is it because you're a man?" Annette asked. Ashe blushed and shook his head. 

"No...well...yes at first, but no...Dedue likes men, he told me that in confidence so don't you three go off spouting it. He's already getting a lot of grief just because he's from Duscur," he said and sighed heavily. "I just don't think I'm his type. I'm small, not much of a fighter, the only good thing about me is my cooking skills..." 

"Dedue loves to cook!" Annette said happily. "And as for the other two things that are not true, yes you're small but you're adorable," she said. 

"And you're deadly with a bow, even Dedue's seen that side of you when you took out a bandit from getting the drop on him. I don't think I've ever seen him so amazed," Ingrid said. 

"But he deserves someone in his league, someone who can keep up with him, someone who's already grown up enough and can continue to grow with him. Not some kid with a stupid crush..." Ashe said looking down at his hands twisting them slowly. "He wouldn't want me," he finished shaking his head. 

The girls were quiet, looking at each other before looking back at Ashe. Mercedes took his hands gently in her own making him look up at her. "We're going to help you," she said. 

"And if it turns out that you're right, well, we'll be there to help you heal," Annette said. Ashe looked at them and nodded slowly. 

"It's really not necessary ladies, but I do appreciate the thought," he whispered getting up. "Don't waste your time."   
The Blue Lions were gathered in the classroom, their HQ for operation "Lovebirds". It was private enough after hours and the doors remained closed. Wouldn't want anyone to hear their plans. Especially if they were Ashe and Dedue. 

"Right, Ashe admitted to the crush, but oof," Annette said. "He really has no confidence in himself," she said. 

"He doesn't want us meddling, so we'll have to be indirect," Dimitri said. "Focus our attentions with trying to get them alone together, but where?"

"The ladies and I were thinking about the kitchens, they like cooking, what better place to start than there?" Annette asked. 

"Maybe the greenhouse?" Sylvain said. "If you're right about the flowers Dedue's been growing maybe Ashe can get an answer out of him," she said. 

"But that might also put Dedue in a corner, we all know how he reacts to that, we may end up making things worse," Felix said. 

"Felix is right, we should save that for when they're comfortable," Dimitri said. 

"Oh! There's a House vs. House with Archery next week! Ashe is already signed up too!" Anette said. "Next to Claude, Ashe is outmatched! Even Petra can't beat him! What if we got together to support our friend! Dedue will get to see how strong he is!" Everyone remained silent while they thought, Dimitri was the first to speak up on the matter. 

"That's a good phase one, a show of strength," he said. "Might soften them up to each other," he said. 

"Phase one is a go!" Ingrid said happily. 

The week leading up to the match was quiet. Ashe was training a lot with Dimitri under Dedue's watchful gaze. The class had decided to keep using Dimitri to at least get them into the same room. It was easier if it was the Crowned Prince inviting you to do things even if there was an ulterior motive. When the day of the match came, the three houses were crowded into the training room cheering for their respective teammates. Ashe was the first one out against Ignatz. 

"Come on Ashe!" Annette called happily. "Show'em what you got!" The girls followed the cheer enthusiastically while Dimitri side-eyed Dedue trying to get a read on him. His strong arms were crossed over his chest, but his eyes were fixed on Ashe. There was also something there, something Dimitri only got a small glimpse of before Dedue looked at Dimitri. The blonde's eyes darted away before looking at the field. 

Ashe was dangerous with a bow, there's a change in his eyes. His body tenses with his bowstring, and his aim was always precise. He moved gracefully against every foe that he had in his sights. It was like a dance that only he knew the steps to. 

"To the left..." Dedue whispered more to himself but Dimitri heard it. "Good...now fire...too low, always too low," he muttered. This pattern continued with every foe that fell to his arrows.

"Break!" Someone called. "Five minutes to the final match up!" The girls all sighed collectively and then started clapping when Ashe came over. 

"Beautiful!" 

"Astounding!"

"Way to go Ashe! A true credit to the house!" The girls said swarming him. Ashe blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Aw thanks, girls," he said. 

"Your technique is precise, and the way you move graceful," Felix said. "You were made for the weapon as if it was an extension of yourself," he continued. 

"Wow...Felix..." Ashe said. "Thanks," he said. 

"Don't get used to it," Felix huffed. 

"What do you think Dedue?" Sylvain asked grinning. Dedue stared Ashe down and stepped closer to him making the girls move a little looking at him with apprehension. 

"Your aim was off the last time, you shot too low. You won, yes, but it was a sloppy win. If you want to win against Claude you're going to have to be 100% accurate to catch him off guard. Aim high for the first arrow, then immediately follow up with a second and finish him off before he has time to draw," he said. "Without doing this you have no chance in winning," he said. 

Everyone winced a little at the words. It was a little harsh, but Ashe didn't seem to mind. In fact, there was a fire in his eyes when he nodded. 

"Right, aim high, then dead center," he repeated. 

"Don't just say it out loud, do it," Dedue said voice still firm. Ashe nodded again and looked behind him when the match was called in. Ashe was quick to enter the ring again with Claude. 

"That was harsh," Dimitri said quietly to Dedue. 

"He needed to hear it, he won't win with flash," Dedue said. "Actually I'm certain, he's going to lose. Claude's just as much a natural at the bow as he is, but Claude is better," he said. Dimitri swallowed a little and looked out. Ashe was having no time to even draw his bow, he was dodging Claude's arrows one by one. 

"He's not even getting time to draw!" Annette said. There was a startled gasp from the girls when Ashe got grazed by an arrow on his leg sending him down to his knee for a second before he jumped back up and finally drew and fired. 

"Low," Dedue said. Claude easily dodged it and fired a shot at Ashe nailing him in the shoulder sending him on his back. 

"Match end!" Someone called. 

"Oh Ashe!" the girls ran over to him helping him sit up. Dedue went over and gently as he could broke the arrow making Ashe whimper. 

"I'm...I'm sorry Dedue," Ashe said. 

"It is a lesson on where to continue your training, you did well to last as long as you did. Now let's get you to the infirmary," he said lifting Ashe up in his arms. Ashe was blushing hotly, but he leaned into Dedue's chest pressing his hand against his wound. 

When they walked past the girls were giggling while the boys just watched them amused. "Well...that was..." Sylvain started. 

"Fortuitous," Felix finished. 

"It was adorable!" Annette said. 

"Hey!" Claude called going up to them. "He okay? I only meant to graze him," he said. 

"He'll be just fine! Thank you Claude!" Mercedes said grinning up at him and hugging his waist before dashing off to follow Dedue and Ashe to the infirmary. 

"Uh...what?" Claude asked looking at Dimitri confused. Dimitri chuckled and winked at him. 

"Just a little in house drama, nothing to worry about Claude," he said. "You just helped, a little," he said. 

"By shooting Ashe?" Claude asked. Dimitri chuckled patting Claude on the shoulder and started following Mercedes the others taking his lead leaving a very confused Claude behind. "What?!"

xxx  
"So the matches were just the ice breaker, we really need to get these two alone," Ingrid said pacing in front of the others. They had met up in the House classroom while Ashe and Dedue were still in the infirmary. 

"Did you see the blush on Ashe's face when Dedue lifted him up? Surely Dedue didn't miss that?" Annette said. 

"He was quite a help in the infirmary when Manuela was getting the arrowhead out of Ashe's shoulder. He held Ashe steady and their eyes met, Ashe didn't so much as whimper.   
It was like he was hypnotized," Mercedes giggled. 

"Ashe will be out of commission for a while, so maybe something simple. I liked Annette's ideas of the Kitchen. Dedue's on cooking duty, maybe get Ashe in on it while he's recovering," Dimitri said. 

"Excellent!" 

Ashe was finally out of the sling, his shoulder still sore but healing well. He wouldn't be able to draw a bow for another day or two, so Dimitri had asked him to go on kitchen duty while he healed. Ashe, of course, said yes to it and started over towards the kitchens to prepare supper for the evening.   
What he wasn't expecting was seeing Dedue already there preparing food. 

"Oh!" Ashe gasped. "Dedue, I didn't realize you were on duty tonight," Ashe said approaching the taller man. Dedue had taken off his black coat and his sleeves were rolled up showing off strong forearms. He looked at the younger man with a raised brow and looked over his shoulder. He swore he saw the others side-eyeing them from the table. 

"Would you like to help?" Dedue asked. "I know you said you wanted to learn Ducur recipes," he said. Ashe blushed a little and nodded slowly. "Good, take off your coat, roll up your sleeves and wash your hands. You can start cutting up the vegetables," he said and went back to kneading at the dough in his hands.   
Ashe nodded eagerly and quickly got to doing as he was told. When his hands were washed and dried he stood at Dedue's side and began cutting vegetables. "Cut the carrots in large cuts, the onion, and pepper in small cuts," Dedue instructed. He watched Ashe out of the corner of his eye while he continued to knead the dough, his lips quirked a little at the edge. "Very good now, now add the onion and pepper to that pan and let them simmer with the cabbage, the carrots go into the pot." 

"What are you making?" Ashe asked while he added the carrots getting a quick sniff of the stew. 

"We," Dedue corrected, "are making a traditional Duscur beef stew, with vegetable dumplings," he said and started to roll out the dough. "Okay," he said dusting his hands off and started to pull apart the dough rolling them out into circles. "Alright, take those mixed vegetables out of the pan and start dividing them amongst the circles," he said.   
Ashe followed the instructions to the letter, while Dedue watched with a hint of fondness. They stood very close together while they shaped the dumplings. Dedue showing Ashe the proper way to pinch and mold it. Ashe struggled at first until Dedue moved behind him and took his hands in his own larger ones guiding them along the dough. Ashe was blushing furiously but managed to not fumble his fingers. 

"It takes practice, my mother had to show me countless times before I got it. Your hands are perfect for it," he said. 

"H-How so?" Ashe asked. 

"They're small, your fingers are agile," Dedue said. Ashe swallowed a little and tried to focus on the task at hand. Goddess, Dedue was warm or maybe that was the kitchen, or maybe Ashe was coming down with a fever. "Keep working on this, I'm going to check the soup," he said. Ashe nodded clearing his throat while Dedue pulled away from his back and went over to the soup. 

The girls all sighed wistfully at the interaction, it was a shame they couldn't hear what was said. "Phase two complete," Annette said. 

"Next phase?" Dimitri asked. They all looked at each other and they all answered at the same time. 

"The ball," they said. 

Everyone had been busy with missions, lessons, and preparing for the ball that their meddling had been put on hold until the night of. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and it was time for phase three. 

After his dance with Claude, Dimitri had moved back over where Dedue stood alone and leaned close to him. 

"Dedue, you should ask Ashe to dance," Dimitri said casually. Dedue started a little and looked over where Ashe was standing alone like a little wallflower.   
"It's hardly appropriate," Dedue said clearing his throat. 

"Come now, Felix and Sylvain are out there," Dimitri said nodding out towards the two men dancing across the floor. It actually surprised him how at east Felix looked, a small smile on his face while he let Sylvain lead. "And Ferdinand and Hubert had shared a dance, Linhardt and Professor Byleth, Ingrid and Annette..." 

"Not the point," Dedue interrupted. "I wouldn't want to damage his reputation with my own," he said. 

"Oh please," Dimitri sighed. "Goddess forgive me Dedue but I really don't think anyone gives a damn," he said. "Edelgard was dancing with Dorothea, and hell I even danced with Claude, people who really shouldn't be dancing together have been. It's not like I'm asking you to marry him-" 

"Excuse me?" Dimitri stopped talking when Ashe came up to them and looked up at Dedue bashfully. "Uh, s-sorry to interrupt but...Dedue m-may I have a dance?" he asked. The poor thing was blushing and trembling, but his eyes looked determined. Dimitri looked over Ashe's shoulder and saw Mercedes giving him a thumbs up. Dimitri smiled at her with a wink and looked at Dedue and Ashe. 

"I don't think..." Dedue started but looked into Ashe's eyes and sighed with a small smile. "I'd be honored to," he said taking Ashe's hand in his own. Ashe blushed furiously and followed Dedue to the dance floor. 

"I never realized how small Ashe was compared to Dedue," Mercedes said making Dimitri jump a little. The two of them watched Dedue and Ashe dance along the floor. Dedue was actually quite good at it, and their eyes never left the other. Ashe was even smiling at him. "Think this will be the nail?" she asked. 

"I can only hope, but for now, Lady Mercedes may I have a dance?" Dimitri asked. Mercedes blushed delicately and looked behind him. 

"Oh I would, but I do believe someone else requires your attention," she said pointing behind him. Dimitri turned and saw Claude near the balcony the dark-haired man motioned with his head over to the courtyard. "Go on, we'll make sure this goes off without a hitch, hopefully by the end of the night Dedue and Ashe get their alone time," she said. Dimitri looked back at Claude who was waiting patiently. "Oh do go on," Mercedes pushed a little. "When was the last time you two had a night to yourselves? Go on and enjoy yourself," she said. Dimitri sighed and smiled a little before he went over to Claude. 

He took one last glance at Dedue and Ashe who had eased into each other a little bit more. Ashe couldn't reach Dedue's shoulder so he had placed his hand on Dedue's bicep, his smaller hand carefully enveloped in Dedue's larger one. Dedue's other hand was pressed into Ashe's back holding him close. Their eyes were locked while they moved gracefully around the dancefloor and he swore he saw them smiling at each other. 

"Come on," Claude said taking his arm gently. "I found the perfect place to have some quiet," he said. 

"Right," Dimitri said. He held Claude's hands on his arm while they themselves went off to their own world. 

"That was lovely," Ashe said blushing lightly up at Dedue when they had stepped off the dancefloor. "Thank you," he said. Dedue nodded and leaned down to press a soft kiss on the back of Ashe's knuckles. 

"It was my pleasure, you dance as you fight. Graceful, precise, it was nice," he said. "I wouldn't mind to do it again, away from wandering eyes," he said and looked over where Mercedes, Ingrid, and Annette were standing not too far away and Sylvain and Felix were eyeing them from around the corner. 

"So you've noticed too?" Ashe asked trying not to look around. "I don't know what they're doing, but they've been hovering for a while, weeks actually," Dedue hummed a little and then looked at Ashe with an endearing gaze. 

"I think I know what this is about," he said. "But we can talk about it in the greenhouse, away from prying eyes. There's something I want to show you," he said. "If I could have the pleasure of your company for a little longer?" he asked offering his arm. 

Ashe blushed but smiled at him taking Dedue's arm. Dedue mirrored the smile and started walking out of the room towards the greenhouse. The night was cool, not too cool but comfortably compared to the overly warm ballroom. Ashe leaned into Dedue's arm resting his head against it while they walked. It was a slow pace, just them enjoying each other's company. 

"I had wanted to show this earlier, but I had to wait until they were mature," Dedue said opening the door to the greenhouse and allowing Ashe to go ahead of him. "And they have a very special gift at night," he said. 

"What are they?" Ashe asked. Dedue smiled and beckoned him closer to a small corner in the greenhouse. It was a reserved square that Dedue and made a deal for with the greenhouse keeper. Probably his first friend at the monastery outside of the House. When Ashe approached the box he gasped at the flowers in the box, large silvery-white blooms with a glowing mint green center. "Dedue..." he breathed. 

"I grew them with you in mind, carefully cultivated them to get the color right. The green in the middle is a type of bioluminescence, they soak up the sun during the day and they glow at night," he carefully cut one of the blooms with shears and handed into Ashe. 

"It's beautiful," Ashe said putting it to his nose. 

"Only a fraction as beautiful as you," Dedue said. "I had hoped they'd all be ready before now, but they're prickly and need to be babied constantly. I wanted to give you a bouquet of them, a gift to ask you if I could court you," he said a light blush on his cheeks. "I had a whole evening planned but-" Dedue was cut off when Ashe wrapped his arms around his waist and buried his face into Dedue's chest. 

"This is perfect," he said. Dedue's hands hovered over Ashe's back for a moment before his arms wrapped around him securely. They stood like that for a few heartbeats before Ashe pulled away gazing up at Dedue with those shining mint green eyes. Dedue smiled and pulled Ashe closer again, he leaned down steadying Ashe when he got on his tiptoes and they met for a very soft kiss. Shy at first, but Ashe pressed a little firmer wrapping his arms tight around Dedue's neck. 

Outside the greenhouse, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, Annette, and Mercedes watched all sighing quietly while they closed the door. The girls started giggling while Felix and Sylvain smiled at each other. 

"We did it!" Annette said clapping quietly. 

"Wait until we tell Dimitri!" 

"Ohh I can't wait until classes start again! Do you think they'll be open or no?"

"It doesn't matter, we all know the truth," Sylvain said wrapping his arm around Felix's shoulders. "Come on, let's get going. There's still a party going on, and I think I'm in the mood for one more dance," he said waggling his brows at Felix. 

"Incorrigible," Felix huffed. 

They parted from the greenhouse, unknown to them that behind the doors, Ashe was pressed into a wall, and Dedue's teeth and lips at his neck and the glowing flower was behind his ear. He'd have some new marks to sport in the morning, not he even bothered to care at the moment. 

They entered the dining hall the next morning, fingers tangled together. Ashe was expecting to be teased for the dark marks on his neck that Dedue had left the night before. The house just smiled at them and just started conversing as they normally would over breakfast. No one mentioned the marks, no one mentioned the way Dedue would lean over and whisper to Ashe, lips just brushing his ear. Nor did anyone mention it when Dedue kissed Ashe's knuckles when they parted for the morning. 

No one mentioned a thing, nor would they ever. It was the worst kept secret of the Blue Lion House, and it was out in the open.


End file.
